Families, couples, children: These are the lives we lost in the Texas church shooting

Sutherland Springs, Texas is reeling from the loss of so many of their friends and family. Hear in their own words how they're leaning on each other and honoring the precious lives lost.
USA TODAY

Brenda Woldridge, second from left, and Meredith Cooper lay flowers at a memorial outside the First Baptist Church, after a mass shooting that killed 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 7, 2017.(Photo: Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images)

After returning to his church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Pastor Frank Pomeroy struggled to assess the carnage.

Twenty-six of his parishioners at First Baptist Church were dead. At least five married couples were dead. Eight members of one family were dead, three members of another.

His 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, was dead.

Just a week before, Pomeroy preached to his neighbors about the need to respond to the bends on the road of life. But when asked how he would counsel the relatives of the victims of the massacre, Pomeroy was unsure.

"I'm still working on that," he said outside the church Monday. "I don't understand, but I know my God does."

The victims from Sunday's shooting came from a small town, but represented a broad range of lives. The youngest was 18 months, the oldest was 77 years. One was an Air Force veteran, another a bartender. About half were children.

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This April 16, 2017 photo provided by Torie McCallum shows Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting victims John and Crystal Holcombe in Floresville, Texas. John survived the shooting but his wife Crystal, who was pregnant, was killed along with three of their children Sunday, Nov. 5, at the church.
Torie McCallum via AP

This is Peggy Warden, she was a Sunday school teacher and threw herself in front of her grandson Zach Poston and was fatally shot as she protected the 18-year-old, who then shielded a child who had been hiding under a pew.
Jimmy Stevens, via AP

Zach Poston recovers at a hospital in San Antonio, TX. When a gunman opened fire onto the congregation at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Sunday school teacher Peggy Warden threw herself in front of her grandson Zach getting fatally shot as she protected the 18-year-old, who then shielded a child who had been hiding under a pew, according to relatives.
Jimmy Stevens, via AP

This 2017 photo provided by Torie McCallum shows Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting victims, from left, Megan Hill, Emily Hill, Greg Hill and survivor Evelyn Hill, bottom, in Floresville, Texas. Evelyn survived the Nov. 5 shooting at the church but her brother and sisters along with her mother, who was pregnant, were killed.
Torie McCallum via AP

This April 16, 2017 photo provided by Torie McCallum shows Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting victim Emily Hill in Floresville, Texas. Hill was killed along with her mother, who was pregnant, a brother and a sister at the church on Sunday, Nov. 5.
Torie McCallum via AP

This 2017 photo provided by the Holcombe Family shows Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting victim Megan Hill in Floresville, Texas. Hill was killed along with her mother, who was pregnant, a brother and a sister during the shooting at the church Sunday, Nov. 5.
Holcombe Family Photo via AP

This November 2016 photo provided by Torie McCallum shows Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting victim Greg Hill in Floresville, Texas. Hill died along with his mother, who was pregnant, and two of his sisters at the church on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017.
Torie McCallum via AP

This undated student ID photo released by the Seguin Independent School District shows Annabelle Pomeroy. The 14-year-old's parents, pastor Frank Pomeroy of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs and Sherri Pomeroy, were out of town when a man opened fire inside the church in the small South Texas community on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, killing more than two dozen, including Annabelle.
Seguin Independent School District via AP

This June 18, 2017, photo provided by Lorena Santos shows her relatives Therese Rodriguez and Richard Rodriguez in San Antonio, Texas. The couple were among those killed in the Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, at the shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Lorena Santos via AP

Undated photo of Shani Corrigan (left) and Robert Corrigan during Robert Corrigan's military retirement ceremony. Shani Corrigan and Robert Corrigan were two of the victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on November 5, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Clare County Veterans' Services

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Annabelle Pomeroy

Her parents were out of town, but Annebelle Pomeroy was still in church on Sunday, sitting beside her friends and neighbors when the shooting broke out.

That came as no surprise to her relatives since the 14-year-old was always eager to attend her church, usually sitting in the first pew to hear her father's sermons. Her cousin, Jason Mckey, told KHOU-TV she was a respectful soul who always tried to learn from her elders.

"She would sit Indian-style with her elbows on her knees and she would put her hands on her face and she would just look up at me and she’d just listen to everything I said," Mckey said.

Annabelle was the youngest child of Frank and Sharri Pomeroy and "one very beautiful, special child," her father told ABC News.

The Holcombe family

For all the mass shootings and terrorist attacks that have plagued the country in recent years, perhaps no family has suffered such a blow as the Holcombe family.

Three generations of the family were gunned down in the Texas church shooting, including a pastor about to address the church, four children, one pregnant mother and her unborn child.

All told, eight members of the Holcombe clan died.

There was Bryan Holcombe, an associate pastor at the church who was walking up to the pulpit to lead a prayer when the gunman stormed into the church, his parents told The Washington Post. His father, Joe Holcombe, said Bryan was born to preach: his first word was "God" and his first sentence was "See the light."

The pastor's wife, Karla Holcombe, was also gunned down. Their son, Marc Daniel Holcombe, was also killed as well as his baby daughter, Noah.

Then there was Crystal Holcombe, a pregnant mother of five who home-schooled her children. Her Facebook page, which has been turned into a page of remembrance, is filled with years of memories they shared together, from their pirate costumes for Halloween to their bake sale to benefit victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Crystal was killed, along with three of her children: Emily, Megan and Greg.

"Crystal was a breath of freash air," Rojean Staggs, who rented an apartment to the mother, told The Post. "She had a full house and just seemed to take to it beautifully."

About a half mile from the site of the worst mass shooting in Texas history, 26 crosses dot the landscape of an empty lot next to the only baseball diamond in Sutherland Springs, Texas. (Nov. 7)
AP

The Ward family

When the shooting broke out, Joann Ward's reaction was immediate: she protected her children.

A friend of Ward's posted on Facebook that Ward "gave up her very life" by "shielding her babies from the shooter." Vonda Greek Smith, who described herself as a family spokesperson, described Ward as a sweet mother whose story needed to be shared.

Despite her efforts, Ward was killed along with two of her children: 5-year-old Brooke Ward and 7-year-old Emily Garza. Her son, Ryland Ward, 5, was shot multiple times, but was in a local hospital undergoing surgery, according the boy's uncle, Michael Ward.

"Joann was such a wonderful mother whose whole life was her children and family," John Alexander, an uncle, wrote on his Facebook page. "My heart is broken."

The Corrigan family

Nearly one year ago, Robert and Shani Corrigan held a memorial service at First Baptist Church in their adopted hometown of Sutherland Springs. They were honoring their 25-year-old son, Forrest, who committed suicide.

On Sunday, in that same church, the high school sweethearts were gunned down.

The two grew up in the same town in northern Michigan. He ran track, holding Harrison (Mich.) High School's record in the 2-mile for 25 years. He joined the Air Force, while she helped raised their three boys. Two of them, Preston and Benjamin, are now in the military.

"Everyone needs to know what a fine man he grew up to be," Patty Root, of Harrison, Mich., told the Detroit Free Press. "He did not come from a rich family — just a family that loved to help others."

Renee Haley, director of Veterans' Services for Clare County, Michigan, told The Arizona Republic that a Monday night vigil for the family in their hometown "had a great turnout." And he expressed his shock over the back-to-back tragedies to hit the Corrigan family.

"I am truly amazed at the strength of this amazing family, whose faith has not been shaken by this tragedy," Haley wrote.

The Rodriguez family

Richard Rodriguez had already gone through his share of heartache when he became a widow. The retired railroad worker eventually found a new life, marrying Theresa Rodriguez in 2006.

On Sunday, all that ended when the couple was shot and killed inside the church they attended each and every week.

“If they weren’t at church, they’d be in the backyard, working on a garden,” Richard's daughter, Regina Amador, told People Magazine. “They were amazing people.”

In the hours after the attack, Amador approached the barricades outside First Baptist Church to try and find out if her 51-year-old father was among the victims. At the time, she feared the worst, telling an Associated Press reporter: "I just lost my father."

After confirming the news, Amador huddled with relatives to try and make sense of what had happened.

"I lost my mom when I was 18," Amador told People. "It just sucks because I have to go through this again. I've just been crying and crying. I'm at my family’s now — my dad came from a big family, and had tons of sisters and brothers. We've just been sitting around a table, reminiscing, looking at pictures of them.

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Chairs with roses mark where victims where found in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. A memorial was created in the sanctuary of the church and opened to the public on Nov. 5, 2017, one week after the attack.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWO

Rachel Vasquez places flowers along the fence surrounding First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017. One week earlier 25 people and an unborn child were killed in a mass shooting at the First Baptist Church.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Nearly 300 people congregated in a makeshift church for a closed Sunday service one week after the mass shooting in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017.
R. Tomas Gonzalez, EPA-EFE

Stephen Hope carries a cross in the rain outside the tent near the Sutherland Springs ball park where the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs held their first service one week after the shooting that left 25 people and an unborn child dead.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-TX, and his wife Sandy Cornyn leave their condolences for the victims of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs' First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017.
R. Tomas Gonzalez, EPA-EFE

Sam, bottom, and Morgan Stinson, Ohio residents who were vacationing in Texas, leave their condolences for the 26 people who died after a mass shooting in Sutherland Springs' First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017.
R. Tomas Gonzalez, EPA-EFE

San Antonio resident, Rey Flores kneels near a cross left for a memorial for the people who died after a mass shooting in Sutherland Springs' First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 12, 2017.
R. Tomas Gonzalez, EPA-EFE

A tarp is wrapped around the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs as law enforcement officials wrap up their investigation into the shooting on Nov. 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Charlene Uhl, right, is comforted as she views a cross with the name and picture of her 16-year-old daughter, Haley Krueger, at a memorial where 26 crosses were placed to honor the 26 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on November 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Police remove a road block as they begin to wrap up their investigation of the shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Barbara Solano, center, places flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the First Baptist Church shooting on Nov. 9, 2017, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A man opened fire inside the church in the small South Texas community on Sunday, killing more than two dozen and injuring others.
David J. Phillip, AP

A police officer nails a Texas Highway Patrol patch to a power pole at a memorial to the 26 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Joshua John of Roanoke, Virginia prays at a memorial where 26 crosses were placed to honor the 26 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Nov. 9, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
Scott Olson, Getty Images

Vice President Of The United States Mike Pence speaks during a vigil for the Sutherland Springs church shooting of victims at the Floresville high school football field on Nov. 8, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Vice President Of The United States Mike Pence speaks during a vigil for the Sutherland Springs church shooting of victims at the Floresville high school football field on Nov. 8, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Vice President Mike Pence hugs Evelyn Holcombe at Florseville High School during a stop on Nov. 8, 2017, in Floresville, Texas. A man opened fire inside a church in Sutherland Springs on Sunday, killing and wounding many; Holcombe was in the church during the shooting but escaped.
Eric Gay, AP

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, in wheelchair, receives a hug from Karen Pence, as he and wife, Cecilia Abbott, welcome Vice President Mike Pence on Nov. 8, 2017, in San Antonio. Pence traveled to Texas to visit victims of the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting at a local hospital, as well as visit with the families of the victims and participate in a prayer vigil.
Eric Gay, AP

Joshua John Fitch carries a cross past the First Baptist Church which was the scene of the mass shooting that killed 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas on Nov. 8, 2017.
Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images

Alison Gould ,17 talks about her 16-year-old friend, Haley Krueger, who was killed in the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Gould left a stuffed animal at the makeshift memorial near the scene on Nov. 8, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times, via USA TODAY NETWORK

Community members bow their head to pray during a prayer vigil for the victims of the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting at Floresville high school stadium on Nov. 7, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Flags fly at half staff during a memorial service for victims of the mass shooting that killed 26 people in Sutherland Springs, Texas, at the La Vernia High School on Nov. 7, 2017.
Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images

A women wipes way tears during a prayer vigil for the victims of the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church shooting at Floresville high school stadium on Nov. 7, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Derrick Bernaden of San Antonio waves burning sage over the 26 crosses honoring those who died in the First Baptist Church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 7, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin, speaks during a press conference near the scene of the shooting at the First Baptist Church Sutherland Springs, TX.
Courtney Sacco, USA TODAY NETWORK

Members of the Sutherland Springs community hold up their cellphones Monday night during a prayer vigil to honor the 26 who where killed in the First Baptist Church shooting, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today N

Steven Willeford, who has been hailed as a hero for helping to bring down the shooter is embraced by Sutherland Springs community members during a prayer vigil to honor the 26 who where killed in the First Baptist Church shooting, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Flowers lay at the road block leading to the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs the day after a shooting that multiple people dead, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Johnnie Langendorff speaks to reporters about the mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 6, 2017. Langendorff says he and another man chased down the gunman after he fled the church.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Police officials work in front of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs the day after a mass shooting that left 26 dead, Nov. 6, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, TX.
Casey Jackson, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

A Texas state trooper stands infront of a closed road leading to First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs the day after a shooting that left many dead, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Mona Rodriguez holds her 12-year-old son, J. Anthony Hernandez, during a candlelight vigil held for the victims of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017.
Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackett speaks to the media outside the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs the day after a shooting that left 26 dead, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Texas state troopers stand infant of the closed road leading to First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs the day after a shooting that left 26 daed, Nov. 6, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA TODAY Network

Community members gather for a vigil across the street from the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs where 26 people where killed in shooting Nov. 5, 2017.
Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times via the USA Today Network

Community members attend a vigil for the victims of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017.
Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Community members gather for a vigil across the street from the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where 26 people where killed in shooting on Nov. 5, 2017.
Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference following a shooting that left 26 dead at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017.
Courtney Sacco/Corpus ChristiCaller-Times via USA TODAY NETWORK

A couple comfort each other at a community center in Sutherland Springs, Texas, near the scene of a mass shooting at the First Baptist Church on Nov. 5, 2017.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Carrie Matula embraces a woman after a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017. Matula said she heard the shooting from the gas station where she works a block away.
Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

Law enforcement officials stand next to a covered body at the scene of a fatal shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2017.
Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP

The Marshall family

Sunday was Karen and Robert Scott’s first time visiting First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.

They were looking for a new church after Karen finished an assignment at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and they moved to La Vernia, Texas, family members told the Tribune-Review in Pennsylvania. They were killed in Sunday’s shooting.

The couple met in the Air Force in North Carolina more than 30 years ago. Robert Scott, who went only by his middle name, retired from the Air Force in 1990 and worked as a civilian contractor. Karen, who was a master sergeant in the Air National Guard, was in the process of retiring, according to the Beaver County (Penn.) Times.

"When you see other people, you pray, and then when it hits so close to home, it rips your heart out," Scott’s sister Holly Hannum told the Times.

"This keeps happening again and again and again, and you know that your own family members you’ll never see again or be able to call again. It hurts. It breaks your heart."

They leave behind two daughters, a son and five grandchildren, according to the Tribune-Review.

Lula White

Texas authorities said Devin Kelley, the gunman who killed himself after trying to escape the shooting, may have been sparked to action because of a "domestic situation" involving his relatives.

Lula White, 71, may have been one of the targets of his rage.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Kelley was sending "threatening texts" to his mother-in-law. White's sister, Mary Mishler Clyburn, said that White was Kelley's grandmother-in-law during an interview with the New York Daily News.

Clyburn said she couldn't discuss the details of the investigation into Kelley's problems with his mother-in-law. Instead, she expressed her dismay that anybody could want to hurt White.

"My sister was a wonderful, caring person — a God-loving person," Clyburn said. "She loved the people in her church. They were all her best friends."

White's husband died a few months ago, according to Clyburn. Now the family must come to grips with White's death as well.

"The whole family is very devastated," Clyburn told the Daily News. "I don't know where we're going from here."

Haley Krueger

Haley Krueger decided to show up a bit early Sunday to help prepare breakfast for her fellow parishioners at First Baptist Church.

After all, helping was in her nature. Her mother, Charlene Uhl, told People Magazine that the 16-year-old wanted to be a nurse. Specifically, she wanted to a nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit.

But shortly after Sunday's breakfast, Krueger was one of the victims.

"She was a vibrant 16-year-old that loved life," Uhl said. "She loved her church. She was always hyper and ready for anything. She had two nephews and adored both of them."

Tara McNulty

Tara Elyse McNulty was a bartender at The Aumont Saloon in Seguin, Texas, about 15 miles away from the church.

Kevin Koenen, the owner of the saloon, said in a Facebook post that McNulty was a kind-hearted person and a great employee.

He said her two children, Hailey and James, were wounded in the shooting and have a long road to recovery. Friends set up an online fundraiser, and are planning a benefit at The Aumont Saloon no Nov. 12, to help with funeral costs and medical expenses for her children.

"She was conscientious, engaging and always willing to do the little things," read a testimonial on an online fundraising page. "She was a sweet, kind and loving woman, mother and daughter and will be greatly missed by many."

The Johnson family

"Please pray for the church in Texas. My brother and his wife was there. No news yet," she wrote. Less than an hour later, she wrote that she heard they were shot but didn’t know how badly they were injured or what hospital they might be in.

Hours later, she wrote that family called hospitals and none had records of Dennis Johnson, 77, or his wife, Sara Johnson, 68. Monday morning, the news came.

"Found out my brother Dennis and Sara was found inside the church. God called them home together," Harris posted.

Harris confirmed their deaths to The Arizona Republic but declined to comment further.

They celebrated 44 years of marriage in July and had attended the Sutherland Springs church for more than a decade, according to a GoFundMe for their family.

Dennis was born in Rockford, Ill., and was a veteran of both the U.S. Navy Reserves and the Army National Guard. He served as a Seabee in Operation Desert Shield, according to the GoFundMe.

Sara was born in Jasper, Fla., and "devoted her life to caring for children, both as a loving grandmother and a volunteer in a church nursery for over 30 years." Most recently, she worked at Pfeil's Home and Garden.

They leave behind six children, "several beloved grandchildren, and were expecting 4 great-grand children," according to GoFundMe.